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Antifreeze protein
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<p>Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of <a href="/facts/Polypeptides/C4ltc7UG">polypeptides</a> produced by certain <a href="/facts/Animal/4b8J33nd">animals</a>, <a href="/facts/Plant/X5BMDMvS">plants</a>, <a href="/facts/Fungi/BHo5DP59">fungi</a> and <a href="/facts/Bacteria/wC8xSCsU">bacteria</a> that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small <a href="/facts/Ice_crystals/By1nPMgF">ice crystals</a> to inhibit the growth and <a href="/facts/Crystallization/oCUUG80k">recrystallization</a> of ice that would otherwise be fatal. There is also increasing evidence that AFPs interact with mammalian cell membranes to protect them from cold damage. This work suggests the involvement of AFPs in cold <a href="/facts/Acclimatization/YAJ7Us7p">acclimatization</a>. </p>